The Mushroom Murder Trial: Erin Patterson’s True Crimes

Mother-Daughter Relationship Unveiled: Heather Scutter, Children's Literature, and the Early Life of Erin Patterson

The Mushroom Murder Trial: Erin Patterson’s True Crimes

Show Notes

Who was Erin Patterson before the mushroom murders shocked Australia? What shaped Erin Patterson before the mushroom murders rocked Australia? In this episode, we delve deep into her mother-daughter relationship with Dr Heather Scutter, a renowned children's literature academic at Monash University. Drawing from Erin’s own testimony and reflections on her upbringing, we examine how children's literature, academic discipline, and family dynamics influenced her formative years...

More from The Mushroom Murder Trial: Erin Patterson’s True Crimes

Aug 17, 2026

The Erin Patterson matter is before the Victorian Court of Appeal this week, in the form of two major challenges to the outcome of Australia’s infamous mushroom murder trial. In this episode of The Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast, we examine the Department of Prosecutions (DPP) appeal against Erin Patterson’s sentence and Patterson’s own appeal against her convictions for murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Ian Wilkinson, after a deadly July 2023 fam...

Oct 17, 2025

Although Erin Patterson’s actions against her family were monstrous, her treatment in custody raises hard questions about the ethics of punishment. Solitary confinement doesn’t deliver justice — it destroys people. In this episode of The Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast, we unpack the hidden reality of isolation inside Australian prisons and examine why decency must still have a place, even when dealing with the infamous like Erin Patterson. Ms Patterson has been in isolation in Vict...

Oct 8, 2025

🚨Prosecutors in Victoria are now appealing against the mushroom murderer’s sentence, arguing it was — quote — “manifestly inadequate.” Erin Patterson, aged 51, was jailed for life last month with a non-parole period of 33 years. That means she’ll be well into her eighties before she can even apply for parole. This is one of the longest sentences ever handed to a female offender in Australian history. But the department of Public Prosecutions has confirmed it’s not satisfied with the sentence....

Oct 6, 2025

Australia’s most notorious shock jocks, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson, are under scrutiny after comments made during Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial were under review by prosecutors. Four months on, Victoria’s Office of Public Prosecutions is still weighing potential contempt-of-court charges against the KIIS FM hosts — after Kyle was heard saying “lock that b**h up.”* In this episode, Lisa from The Mushroom Murder Trial Podcast breaks down what’s happening behind the scenes: ...

Oct 3, 2025

🚨 In a case making waves in Australian legal history, the Department of Public Prosecutions is appealing the sentence handed to Erin Patterson, the so-called mushroom murderer. Prosecutors argue the punishment was 'manifestly inadequate' after Patterson, 51, received a life sentence with a 33-year non-parole period—one of the longest ever given to a female offender in Australia. Why is the Department of Public Prosecutions challenging this already historic sentence, and what could...

See all episodes →